explanatory

C1 Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ɪkˈsplæn.ə.t(ɔː.)ɹi/ UK /ɪkˈsplæn.ə.t(ə)ɹi/ See IPA manual

Freq #73097

Meanings

1

adj
Helping to explain something or make it clearer.

The report includes a few explanatory notes at the bottom of each page.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

epexegetic

Word family

Forms unexplanatory

Derived forms explanatorilyexplanatorinessnonexplanatoryoverexplanatoryself-explanatoryunexplanatory

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

explanatory paragraph
a paragraph that makes a point, process, or situation clearer

Adjective + noun

Etymology

From Late Latin explānātōrius, from Latin explānāt-, past-participle stem of explānāre (“to explain”). Displaced Old English ġereclīċ.

explānātōrius la-lat

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# explanatory

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C1
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ɪkˈsplæn.ə.t(ɔː.)ɹi/
**IPA (UK):** /ɪkˈsplæn.ə.t(ə)ɹi/
**Frequency rank:** 73097

## Meanings
1. Helping to explain something or make it clearer.

## Examples
- The report includes a few explanatory notes at the bottom of each page.

## Synonyms
- epexegetic

## Derived Forms
- explanatorily
- explanatoriness
- nonexplanatory
- overexplanatory
- self-explanatory
- unexplanatory

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: explānātōrius

## Etymology
From Late Latin explānātōrius, from Latin explānāt-, past-participle stem of explānāre (“to explain”). Displaced Old English ġereclīċ.

## AI Etymology
Explanatory is from Late Latin explānātōrius, from Latin explānāt-, past-participle stem of explānāre (“to explain”). Displaced Old English ġereclīċ. A key historical form is Late Latin explānātōrius. In present-day use, it means helping to explain something or make it clearer. Derived formations include explanatorily, explanatoriness, nonexplanatory, overexplanatory, self-explanatory.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

markdown